I Dare You [ Cedar Ridge Equestrian Academy ]

Chapter 7: Willow Wars

I picked up my reins and clicked to Nemo. He picked up an easy walk, and I let him stretch down for the first few laps. Tahlia rode Jazz like a pro, she was tracking and stretching like she had her whole life. Shawna was struggling to give Willow rein and keep her walking, so she kept a brisk, collected walk. Zoe was grinning on a Dodger who was lazily walking with his nose on the ground. Monty looked at almost every fence post, and spooked at least twice in the warmup.

I picked up a trot. Nemo immediately wrenched his head high and trotted along hollow but somewhat balanced. I kept my outside rein firm and squeezed with my inside, on and off. He dropped his head for a second and raised his back, but his trot slowed almost to a complete walk I nudged with my heels and his head popped straight back up. I tried again. And again. Tahlia was working Jazz in a perfect frame, and Tahlia looked like she was born up there. Casey had Monty working long and low, and Zoe was zooming around on a now very speedy Dodger while looking like the happiest human on earth.

Shawna and Willow however were hitting some speed bumps. A lot, actually. I could suddenly see how she jumped 4ft now, that pony had ridiculous amounts of energy. Just at a trot she was bouncing around, pigrooting and cow kicking, even throwing in some rears to spice it up. Shawna looked completely comfortable. She had clearly done this plenty before. Willow's ears were smack back and she wrestled to keep her going but not rearing. Shawna smiled at me.
"This is her hissy fit stage. She gets over it eventually." Willow was shoving her around, but she stayed completely balanced. She just rode it out perfectly.

After a few laps and a change of direction I urged Nemo into a canter. He immediately fell into a flowing canter. His strides were huge and a massive shock when I first rode him, but now it was the most comfortable sensation on the planet. He was considerably better at framing at the canter too, he tucked his head in nicely and raised his back properly. I praised him loudly and he flickered his ears in reply. Suddenly his head flung up and his ears pinned. He kicked out strongly to the side. Shawna galloped past on an out of control Willow yelling "Sorryyyyyyyyyyy!" and fading away as she galloped past. I stifled a laugh and concentrated on bringing Nemo back together. A voice shook me back into reality.
"She should sell that mental mutt of a pony." I snapped around. Nemo for once behaved, and didn't take advantage of my concentration drop. Sometimes that horse was a saint. Holly was standing outside the arena holding a big black warmblood. He was absolutely stunning, tail swishing and standing stock still for his bitch of an owner. Shawna kept her holy balance on a wildly pigrooting Willow. She smacked the pony on the shoulder and growled at her.
"Enough horse. I've let you play, now get to work!" Something in the little mare's head snapped. Suddenly she cantered around, head dropped and back rounded. My eyes boggled. Wha...
Shawna praised her and aimed her at the little cross pole Zoe had set up while waiting for us. Holly was shut up for once. She jerked her horse's reins and snapped at him.
"Come on Watson." The black gelding obliged and followed along to the other outdoor, out of ear and eye shot.
Meanwhile, Shawna had begun jumping the crazy pony. She had immaculate form, and Willow had scope to spare. They were a talented pair.
Tahlia meanwhile was watching out of the corner of her eye whilst cantering circles. Dressage was clearly her thing. Jazz didn't even bat an eyelid. Me and Zoe had stopped and we waiting for our turn to jump. Casey (being the crazy smart one she is) had hopped off and was setting up a small combination. Shawna popped over the jump again, and Willow launched herself at it. Zoe urged Dodger into an unbalanced canter and quickly neaten we him up before turning down the line. Dodger took one look at the jump and absolutely rushed at it.
"Wheeeeee!" Zoe whooped as she someone got a perfect stride to the jump. She landed and patted him hard on the neck. I clicked to Nemo. It was a tiny crossrail. Both of us could do it blindfolded. I started with a strong trot and asked for a canter, before carefully lining him up to the cross. 3, 2, 1, and we were over! I loved jumping but jumping with these guys as company was double the fun. Casey trotted over the jump quickly and then we moved onto the combination. Tahlia kept working on her circles and counter canters. She was a higher level dressage rider than us, but I was determined to get her to jump.
"Hey Tahlia... would you let me jump Jazz?"
"Sure thing. I don't have a jumping saddle so as long as you're willing to so it in a dressage saddle you can do it now." I was off Nemo in seconds. I was going to see if Jazz or Tahlia was the problem, then I could fix it. Tahlia was marginally taller than me, and she had been riding dressage so the stirrups were way too long. I shortened them and Tahlia gave me a leg up. I settled into the saddle and fixed my stirrups. One hole too short, but that was probably because of her dressage saddle. My butt was also way too big but I made do. I clicked to Jazz and she immediately sprung into a speedy walk. Damn she was responsive! Without even a signal she trotted when I just thought about it. Holy shit this horse was magical! I sat and she fell into a rocking horse canter. I directed her to our crossrail and her ears pricked and she glided over it without a break in pace. I was feeling confident, I pushed her more towards the outside fence and towards the three jump combination. She sailed over it easily, not faltering or speeding up. This horse hadn't just jumped before, she'd been schooled properly. Zoe, Casey and Shawna all looked like they saw Jazz turn grey and pop a horn out the top of her head. Zoe turned to a bored looking Tahlia.
"Dude... you need to jump that horse. Her, like, soul needs it." Tahlia frowned. I slowed to a walk and patted Jazz.
"Yeah. She's super talented, she's clearly done this before. If you're going to jump on any of these horses, definitely do it on her."
"I'm not going to jump." Tahlia snapped. I dismounted and handed the reins to her. She took then and sullenly skulked out of the arena. Casey shook her head and stared at her saddle. Shawna nudged Willow into a trot and lined up to the combination. I remounted Nemo and Zoe just looked pissed.